Accessing advanced order details

Accessing Advanced Order Details

To view advanced details for a specific options trade, either:
Click on the expiration date in the main table, or
Click the three dots icon at the end of the table row

Note: Data updates in near real-time, approximately every minute. If no data is displayed, please wait briefly for the system to populate the information.

Some SPX option trades may not show any data at all. We are working on updating this.

Order Breakdown

This section provides an overview of the key details for the selected options trade processed by our system.

Trade Side Distribution

The pie chart offers a visual breakdown of the premium distribution across all trades for the selected options order. It highlights which side (Ask, Bid, etc.) is experiencing the heaviest trading activity.

Contract Volume and Open Interest

This chart tracks the total options volume for the selected contract over a 5-day period. It also displays the change in open interest and the contract's price movement.

Historical Data

The table presents historical data for the selected options contract over the past 2 weeks, including:
- Changes in volume and open interest
- Closing price of the contract
- Implied volatility

Use Case

This data is really useful for determining if an options contract is being bought or sold. Look for the following:

Volume
If volume is significantly higher than the existing open interest, it signals that intraday trading is occurring, with positions being opened and closed within the same day.
If volume is around the same level as existing open interest, it may suggest that most of the trading activity is opening new positions.

* Use the trade side distribution graph to help understand if the contract in question is being bought (calls on the ask or above) or sold (puts on the bid and below) intraday.

Open Interest
If open interest is increasing along with rising volume, it indicates that new positions are being opened and contracts are being bought.
If open interest is decreasing or remains flat while volume spikes, it suggests existing positions are being closed, so contracts are being sold.

Implied Volatility
Increasing implied volatility along with rising volume and open interest suggests contracts are being bought, especially call options.
Decreasing implied volatility with high volume but flat or declining open interest points to contracts being sold.

Closing Price
If the closing price of an option is moving higher with increasing open interest and volume, it confirms contracts are likely being purchased.
The opposite is true if the closing price trends lower on high volume without much change in open interest - it indicates more selling pressure.

Open interest and volume are the most important metrics to focus on. Rising open interest and volume signal buying pressure, while high volume alone with flat or declining open interest suggests more selling.

However, options data doesn't show the exact number of contracts bought vs sold. Every trade has both a buyer and seller. So these metrics provide clues and overall sentiment, but not precise buy/sell numbers. Analyzing price trends and implied volatility changes can provide additional context on whether traders are more actively buying or selling their positions in a particular options contract.

Updated on: 04/16/2024